Ealing Croquet Club

Ealing secured a place in the Finals Weekend at Surbiton in October with a hard-fought win over Bristol.

David Graham got the ball rolling by beating Margo Soakell +19 with bisques left standing. Carole McCloughlin and Adrian Cunliffe then overcame Eric Soakell and Mike Salisbury +16 on time, just failing to peg out both balls to remove the ‘T’ from the scoreline.

It could – and probably should – have been 3-0 to Ealing at lunchtime, but Frances Ransom fought back valiantly from a long way behind to secure a +1 on time win against Simon Tuke.

After lunch Adrian quickly made it 3-1, dispatching Margo +26, including using two bisques to do a double peel. Eric saw off Simon +18 with some clinical play, and Mike was always in control against David, managing to peg out after time was called to record a +16 win.

With the score tied at 3-3 it was all down to Carole – not for the first time – to pull a win out of the bag. She was well ahead, but Frances had shown in the morning game her capacity to come back, so it was by no means a foregone conclusion.

Carole played with her usual calm and steeliness, as well as an admirably positive approach. She kept looking to make hoops, rather than resorting to negative tactics, and was duly rewarded with a win +12 on time. Our photo shows her relief after delivering the goods for Ealing yet again.

Our thanks to Bristol for making the journey up the M4, and for a match played in a good spirit.

See you at Surbiton on October 6th and 7th!